Generic devices and methods are already well known from the prior art. In particular, such devices exist as suspension systems for sprung vehicle seats especially on utility vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and the like. Such sprung vehicle seats are typically mounted on a floor or on a floor panel of the respective motor vehicle, wherein the floor or the motor vehicle can be regarded as the fixed frame. A seat device of the vehicle seat and/or a person sitting thereon can be regarded as the mass to be sprung, wherein often an air spring is provided for springing such a mass relative to the frame. This air spring may in this case be integrated in a scissors-type control system of the vehicle seat, which can ensure a reliable guidance, in particular a guided vertical upward and downward movement of the seat device. The scissors-type control system may additionally be equipped with a damper in order additionally to be able to damp for example particularly severe vertical movements.
An example of a generic configuration is known from DE 10 2004 054 325 B3. In the configuration proposed therein, the suspension comfort is said to be improved by the fact that the height of the seat surface relative to the vehicle floor and the acceleration of the seat surface in the vertical direction are detected. Based on the corresponding measured data, the pressure in the air spring is then varied. In other words, it is proposed in DE 10 2004 054 325 B3 to vary the quantity of air supplied to the air spring as a function of the vertical acceleration and also the height of the driver's seat surface above the vehicle floor.
DD 220 674 A1 discloses an active, electrohydraulic vibration damper which, connected in parallel with a spring, is intended to have a damping effect on a vehicle seat.
DD 223 835 A1 discloses a controller for a hybrid anti-vibration system with feedback of an absolute speed of an object, which can be used for seats and in which account is taken of the acceleration of the seat.
Furthermore, DE 601 21 688 T2 discloses an active seat suspension system for a seat, which is supported by a scissors-type system above a seat substructure. A hydraulic piston and an air cushion are provided between the seat and the seat substructure. The quantity of air in the air cushion, which is of constant volume, is controlled by a compressor and by a vent. The configuration comprises an acceleration sensor and also a seat position sensor, the measured values of which are taken into account by an electronic control unit (ECU) when actuating the compressor and the vent.
In addition to the above-mentioned use examples with regard to vehicle seats, such suspension systems also occur in other technical embodiments, for example on a wheel suspension of vehicles, such as in particular motor vehicles.